Advice
by HedwigBlack
Summary: In which Charlie is in Romania, Katie is feeling insecure, and George is surprisingly helpful...


_For the OTP Boot Camp with the prompt: letter._

_It's a little weird because this is a Charlie/Katie in which Charlie is only mentioned. If that makes sense… I've been meaning to write this forever, and it's rather dialogue-heavy which I don't particularly like but anywho…read on!_

* * *

Katie ran a hand through her messy black hair in frustration as she entered Weasley's Wizard Wheezes in search of Angelina. The place was packed with eager mischief makers, and she knew that she'd probably be better off waiting until the shop closed, but she was desperately in need of her best friend. Angelina always gave the best advice.

She weaved her way through the crowded aisles and managed to avoid a flying object similar to a Fanged Frisbee before approaching the staircase leading up to the second floor. On her way up the winding steps, however, she was stopped not by Angelina, but by her husband who smiled cheerily at her, and then frowned when he took notice of her expression.

He gently took her arm and led the way through the maze of pranks, products, and customers to a back room that was unoccupied. "Something the matter?" he asked, hoisting himself onto a desk in the corner.

Katie shrugged. "I was hoping to talk to Angelina, actually. Is she around?"

George shook his head. "She went out to run some errands. She might be a while. Maybe I could help? Or…wait…" He narrowed his eyes at her as he took notice of the slightly crumpled bit of parchment in her hand. "Is that a letter from my brother?"

Katie could feel her face flush pink. "Could be," she said. There was no sense in denying it. She crossed her arms and prepared herself for his inevitable teasing.

George rubbed his hands together gleefully. "And what does my dear brother Charlie have to say? Still mad over you, is he?" He glanced curiously at the letter in her hands and wrinkled his nose at another thought that crossed his mind. "Or do I even want to know the sort of things you two talk about?"

"George! It's nothing like that." Katie fidgeted uncomfortably, wishing that Angelina would suddenly show up and save her from this embarrassment. "Look, normally I'd talk to Angie about this, but I've been in a right state all day, and I just don't know what to think," she blurted out. She recognized that it probably wasn't wise to be talking to George of all people about Charlie, but she couldn't stop herself. She'd bottled it up all day, and she thought she might lose it any second.

"You don't know what to think about what? Come on! What does he say?"

Katie sighed and unfolded the letter in her hand. "Nothing serious. You can read it, I suppose."

George grinned and took the parchment from her. She stared at her shoes while he read, but he hadn't gotten far before he stopped and exclaimed, "Charlie's coming home for Christmas? Merlin, Katie, what have you done to the bloke? Wait 'til Mum hears; she'll be bloody _awful_."

Katie furrowed her brow in confusion. "Doesn't he always come home for Christmas?"

George laughed. "Are you joking? True, he's made more of an effort to come home since the war ended, but he hardly _ever_ makes it home for Christmas."

"Oh…"

George raised his eyebrows at this reaction. "You don't seem quite as enthused."

"Well, of course, I'm excited," Katie said. This conversation was not going the way she planned. She shook her head and tried to explain. "It's just different, is all. We hardly ever see each other, and so when we finally do, sometimes I can't help but wonder if…" She trailed off and bit her lip because it was one thing to worry over the matter in her head, but saying it out loud was another thing entirely. Thankfully, George caught on.

"…you wonder if…what? He'll change his mind? Decide being with you is too much work?"

"Wouldn't you?" Katie asked. "I know it's foolish, but I can't help but start thinking things like that, and every possible scenario starts running through my head, and somehow, they all end…_badly_."

She looked up to meet George's eye, not sure how he would react to such a display of insecurity. Angelina wouldn't think anything of it, and know exactly what to say, but George had never been one to be serious about anything. And as she met his eyes, she was not a little mortified to see his shoulders shaking with laughter.

She glared at him. "It's not funny! See, this is why I wanted to talk to Angelina. At least she'd be sympathetic."

George rolled his eyes and she distinctly heard him mutter the word "girls" under his breath. He moved over on the desk and patted the space beside him. "Aw, come on, Katie. It's not all that bad. Come here and let me tell you a few things about my brother. Trust me," he said pointedly as she raised her eyebrows skeptically at him.

"Fine."

She pushed herself up onto the desk and George leaned forward to rest his arms on his knees. After a moment's thought, he smirked at her. "Look, Katie, you're not insane to be a little worried. I mean, some days it still baffles me that Angelina agreed to even marry me, you know? If I only ever saw her every few months, I'd start thinking maybe I was only fooling myself that she'd give a rat's arse about me. No, really, I get it; I do."

Katie grinned. "Thanks."

"Yeah, well, this isn't about me and Angelina. This is about you and Charlie, and if there's one thing you ought to know by now about Charlie, it's that he's the most stubborn idiot on the planet. And once he decides he wants something, he goes all in. It's just the way he is. Let me put it this way; Mum gets a letter every six months. You probably get one once a week, am I right?"

Katie nodded. "Pretty much."

"Does that sound like someone who doesn't want to be with you?"

_When he put it that way…_ Katie had to admit, now that he was spelling it out for her, she was obviously overreacting. "No."

"Exactly. And he doesn't think it's too much work, either," George said knowingly.

"How do you know that?"

"Because for Charlie, there is nothing that is 'too much' work. He doesn't understand the concept. It's why he's so good at his job. And it's why he has no problem making things work with you. Besides, who wouldn't want to?"

Katie punched him in the arm. "I didn't come here to fish for compliments."

"Yes, you did. Besides, I'm being honest."

"I think that might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me, George Weasley," Katie accused.

In response, he threw an arm around her shoulders and ruffled her hair. "Don't get used to it."

Katie wrestled out of his grip, and with a parting punch in the arm, she got up to leave, but he called out to her. "Oh, I forgot to mention…" She turned around and he grinned at her. "He looks at you like you're a baby Hungarian Horntail. It's rather nauseating."

Katie burst out laughing at the visual, and the door behind her opened. She looked up to see Angelina poking her head inside.

"I didn't know you were here, Katie."

Katie mouthed a silent 'thank you' to George before taking her friend's arm and going back out toward the front of the shop. "I was actually here to see you, but George ended up giving me some advice instead. He was surprisingly…well… _helpful_."

Angelina just winked at her. "He has his moments."


End file.
